Golem

Summary: A tragic short story regarding the sins of a Doctor and his choice of redemption.

Short Story

Planet
Earth. A blast from the past. 50 years ago it would have meant
something, back in the days when the planet was actually hospitable
for human life. Sadly, nowadays, it was only used for either massive
mining operations or to house gigantic platforms used to build the
trademark human habitation units. The most expensive ones were placed
right in orbit of the planet itself, while the more price-friendly
modules were clustered on the moon’s surface, forming small cities.
A bleak existence for humans, but the alternative always was more
gruesome, due to human desperation. The Doctor knew first-hand what
survival of the richest entailed.

A knock on
his door tugged him back to reality.

“Come in,
the door is unlocked.” He said monotonically. It was his assistant
that stepped in, clad in the typical white robes of the medical
practitioner.

“Doctor.
The report concerning the finishing touches on Project Golem has been
uploaded to your personal computer. Also, the General is requesting
your presence as soon as possible down inside the Project monitoring
chamber.” As the Doctor’s assistant, Judith, finished addressing
him, it was clear she caught on that something was bothering the
Doctor.

“I shall
just… leave this here and go, then."

“No. Stay.
And please lock the door and blind the windows. Tell me something…”
He turned to face his assistant, away from the outside view that had
the panorama of Earth at its centre.

“Yes
Doctor? Is it about the Project?” Judith asked, being rewarded with
a nod from the Doctor.

“Quite. As
you may have known, this Project has been ongoing for two years now.
What is your take on it? Ethically speaking, that is.” He was
regarding the dark haired woman with his usual hawk-like gaze,
piercing eyes that reminisced of one that looks right through
another’s soul. Judith instinctively looked away from the man’s
eyes, pondering. What if it was a test? She decided the best way
would be to answer truthfully, yet diplomatically.

“In truth,
sir, you have contributed to advancing humanity’s interests,
sacrificing one for the better of many. Yet I do admit that there
were numerous occasions when I had my doubts…” It took a while
before she could turn her gaze back to the Doctor’s, clearly
fearing any kind of backlash, or negative reply. He however kept
watching, until finally, a reply was given.

“You have
a good heart, Judith.” The assistant was shocked. This was the
first time her surname was ever used. The Doctor continued, although
he spoke with his back turned on her, eyes gazing down at the
shattered planet that was Terra.

“Effective
immediately, you are placed on paid holidays until further notice.
You are to leave this station at once, before the ceremonies
regarding Project Golem start.” Turning again to face her, his
expression was grave. He placed both his hands on her shoulders,
looking her right in the eyes, while continuing. Judith was
speechless.

“Something
terrible will happen and there is no helping it, girl. Save yourself.
That is all I will tell you.” And with that, he left the office,
leaving his assistant gawking in surprise.

“Y-yes
Doctor…” she managed, timidly.

Down below,
inside the maintenance levels of the space station, the General and
his staff congregated together with the Doctor, all of them
surrounding what looked to be a cylindrical vat filled to the brim in
translucent liquid that was slowly draining.

“So, you
are sure this thing’s safe, Doctor? Just look at it, it’s a
freak.” The General was short and stubby, face riddled with
various scars and his voice a dull bass. He regarded the Doctor with
impatient scepticism, trying to decipher his hawk-eyed gaze at
Project Golem.

“As I told
you two years ago, General, and many times after that, this thing is
never safe and never will be, for multiple reasons. If you choose to
unveil it at tonight’s ceremony, you do so at your own risk, and
the risk of countless others.” Said the Doctor, in a “matter of
fact” kind of way. The General, however, was fuming, yet did not
say a word, instead looking at the now drained vat, which housed
Project Golem.

The Project
looked like an abomination. A giant of metal and flesh, with heavy armour fused directly on the body of a man, was what greeted the
congregation’s eyes. It was obvious who were regarding the
construct for the first time, and who weren’t, for there were
plenty disturbed reactions that emerged from the crowd of
representatives and officials. One or two even had to keep themselves
from vomiting. The construct’s half-artificial heart was in plain
sight, beating rapidly and shielded only by reinforced glass, fuelling
the currently sleeping mechanisms and weapons of the abominable
behemoth.

“Now then,
Doctor. We have a few new… investors. They would be pleased to hear
about this Project of the Terran Military Coalition.” The Doctor
arched an eyebrow in the General’s direction, before speaking.

“Hm. Very
well.” The man looked the crowd over. It was the same every time.
Curiosity mixed with awe-inspired fear, common in those with
low morals and fortunes comfortably positioned in the ten figure range or higher. He spoke again, breaking the
settled silence.

“As you are all aware, war has been completely abolished for 10 years now,
in part due to the forming of the Terran Military Coalition some 20
years ago. The combined efforts and resources of all world forces
had succeeded in eliminating the alien force that had plagued us for
decades. Project Golem, officially started 2 years ago and named in
mock honour after the butchered alien leader, has been an effort to
stave off civil war, poverty and as a solution to produce military
grade weapons out of prison facilities, of any security level,
world-wide, while using acquired alien technology.” The Doctor
pauses only momentarily to wave a hand in the direction of the
humanoid inside the empty vat.

“…that
is our result. A state of the art war-machine produced from a
hand-picked prisoner, Edgar Harvodis. Nothing human remains of the
man Mr. Harvodis once was. The goal of this project has been reached, just as
the Terran Military Coalition has instructed. General, I do believe
it is time for the festivities to begin. If you’ll excuse me, I
shall be on my way.” And with a wave of his hand he dismissed the
gathering. The general harrumphed and issued instructions to his own
men in order to move the Project. It had begun.

Inside the
upper reaches of the luxurious space station, the ballroom was alight
in commotion. Exquisite drinks and appetizers being passed back and
forth while both men and women mingled with one another in a cocktail
of aristocracy. Suddenly, the lights dimmed together with the noise,
until everything was nothing more than a hush. A computerized voice
held a brief speech to describe what the people saw on the stage, the
behemoth inside the glass vat was wide awake now and stirring as
blood red lights illuminated the stage and the people. The crowd’s
reaction to the sight and the description was mixed; some were
awe-stricken, some utterly horrified, others applauded in glee.
Suffice to say the presentation was a resounding success. The Doctor
merely shook his head at the reactions of the crowd. He placed a
small device to his ear and spoke in a low tone.

“Judith,
it’s me. Where are you?” The reply came near immediately, albeit
somewhat filled with static.

“En route
to lunar city D6, Doctor. I take it that the festivities have already
started?” Her curiosity could be read cleanly and something else…
concern. The Doctor had been acting strangely, after all.

“Good. Now
I can die in peace. Goodbye, Judith.” The Doctor shut the device
off and breathed in before exhaling slowly.

I guess
it is time. He thought to himself. Pressing another button on the
device, the ballroom seemed to change instantly. Locks disengaged on
the safety modules from the vat up on the stage. When that happened,
all hell broke loose. The Golem unleashed itself on the bewildered
crowd like a rabid beast, letting loose a firestorm of chain-gun
bullets, rending flesh from bone. The Doctor did nothing else, having
ensured that everyone, including himself, be trapped inside the
ballroom. Screams of agony, panic and terror rang out against sound-proofed walls. Unfortunate souls were being trampled to death by individuals who had formerly called them 'dear friend'. For every ten spent bullet casings another party-goer donated their blood to the gore-soaked marble floors.

“Golem, we
will all burn for what we did to you.” And with that said, the man
closed his eyes and let the inevitable take its toll. The only tranquil figure in the entire flock was reaped in the most merciful of ways. His neck was snapped before he could feel any pain, his carcass now but another projectile flying towards the masses.

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The Devil's Warhead

:
This is my first book reading on here and I absolutely loved it! If you like a book that'll keep you up late at night then this is your go to. What makes this novel so special is that it shows that even if your not blood related some people would put your needs before there's.

Hawkebat:
Playing both Kotor I & II and Swtor I found the story line interesting and it held me until chapter 35 Very good story and plot flow until then, very few technical errors. I felt that the main character was a bit under and over powered, as it fought for balance. The last few chapters felt too f...

LouiseJ2:
I enjoyed the detail you went into with regards to the case. It made the UNSUB appear believable. The crisis in the middle of the story was my favorite part, very dramatic but not over the top. I feel like sometimes pairings can be overdone but I liked that some of the relationships were a little...

Chris Rolfe:
BOY!!! I sure love what Aer-Ki Jyr did with this series. IMHO he captured the essence of what stargate is all about. Thru out the Stargate stories Aer-Ki wrote Stevens and John Shepard some of the main characters in his stories are pursued by a corrupt I.O.A.. All the while Stevens is changing in...

_JosephJacobson_:
I don't understand why this has such low ratings. I really enjoyed it!I think that the whole idea behind the plot had something very special and that was something that I really enjoyed. It was new, unique. I think that some of the writing was a little strange in places but overall it made sense ...

Schaelz:
I was intrigued from the second I started reading, and it kept my interest the whole way through. Chelsea has a way with words that will enchant you until the very end. She is very poetic with the way she mixes genres and keeps you on the edge of your seat. The main character is also very relat...

ernbelle:
When I first started this story I was a little unsettled by all of the information that appears in the prologue, and wasn't sure if I would continue. However, I am very glad I did. The plot was very well thought out and really interesting. There were not any page breaks or markers to acknowledge ...

ianwatson:
The comedy is original and genuinely funny, I have laughed out loud many times reading this book. But the story and the plot are also really engaging. The opening two or three chapters seem quite character-dense but they all soon come to life and there is no padding, filling or wasted time readin...

John Reed:
Seadrias masterfully captures the impressiveness and complex scope that a science fiction novel should provide while carefully crafting an entire universe that will leave a reader in awe from start to finish. The only flaw I could find is that I wish I could have read more. This book is certainly...

Guywithgunz:
Vanessa's saga has been an ongoing labor of love for the author and her core gp of fans.The saga as a whole is a must read for fans of Adventure / SciFi stories. The uploads here are in need of a final look by an editor for the spelling and grammatical errors that have crept in somehow into the f...